


Messes and Bribes

by meredithxgreys



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Bonding with the kids, Cooking, Dinner, F/M, Making a mess, One Shot, Tries to follow rules but fails
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 13:18:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18477028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithxgreys/pseuds/meredithxgreys
Summary: Andrew cooks dinner for Meredith and the kids.  Through making messes and bribery, he tries to bond with the kids all while trying to follow Meredith's rules.





	Messes and Bribes

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is the first part in a series of one-shots of Merluca and the kids, so I figured the best way to start was for them to have dinner together! Enjoy!

 I shift my weight back and forth from my toes to my heels. Tonight is the night. Meredith has been putting it off and putting it off till she knew we were serious. Not that I blame her, but it just makes me ten times more nervous. If this doesn’t go well, this very well could be the end of us. She’s made sure I know that.

So here I am, at her doorstep, terrified to knock. In my right hand, I have brownies for dessert and in the bag hanging from my arm is ingredients for spaghetti. I told her I could cook tonight. My left hand reaches up, but I’m still not ready yet.

What if they hate me? Meredith has told me so much about them, but I doubt they know anything about me. Maybe they will even remember when I stayed on their couch a year ago, when I was grieving Sam. I was a hot mess, and I can just hope they don’t remember that.

I sigh before banging my fist against the wooden door several times. It’s now or never. I hear a little voice from inside saying that they will get the door. Seconds later, the door swings open to reveal Meredith’s eldest.

“Are you the friend Mommy is having over for dinner?” She stands in the doorway, unmoving.

“Uh, yeah. I’m actually going to make you guys dinner.” I curse myself for being nervous about meeting a nine-year-old. I’ve met her before, but this is different.

Her face lights up. “You are making us dinner?”

“Yeah.” I nod as she moves out of the doorway, letting me in. “I told your Mom that I could cook for you guys.”

She lets out a sigh as she leads me to the kitchen. “Thank goodness, ‘cause Mommy can’t cook.”

We round the corner to see Meredith with her hands on her hips. “Zola, honey. Why did you have to tell him that?”

“Sorry Mommy.” She glances up at me, before motioning me to lean down. She whispers, “She burns everything, and I mean everything she cooks.”

I let out a chuckle. “Good to know.”

Zola runs off into the other room, leaving Meredith and I alone in the kitchen. “What is my daughter saying about me?”

I smirk. “That’s a secret.” I tease as I step closer to her. My hand finds her hip, pulling her closer.

Her hand falls on my chest, pushing me away. “The hospital rules apply here.”

“Really?” I raise an eyebrow and step closer to her again to whisper in her ear. “That’s not what you were saying three days ago when I was here.”

Her eyes widen. “Andrew.”

I kiss her cheek quickly. “That was the night you ripped my shirt.” I move to place the brownies and the bad on the counter.

“Shhh! The kids are in the next room!”

“I know Mer, I’m just teasing you.” I feel the urge to reach out and grab her hand, but I don’t want to push her anymore. “Anyways, you told me you didn’t have much to cook with, so I just brought the stuff I would need.”

She glances at the bag on the counter before smiling. “That’s great. You picked up brownies too?”

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt. I am trying to win them over, you know.” That’s the goal of tonight, is to get them to see us together as friends. Eventually, if we get there that is, let them see us together as more.

“Andrew,” She breaks the ‘rules’ this time, reaching out and caressing my arm. “They’ll love you. I’m sure of it.”

I swallow roughly. “I sure hope so.”

“They will.” She squeezes my bicep softly before turning to the fridge. “Do you want wine, or beer?”

“A beer would be nice.” I turn my attention to the stove, ready to impress the kids with my cooking skills. Apparently, it won’t be that hard since Meredith can’t cook. I open a few cabinets before finding her pots, and I fill it with water and place it on the stove.

Meredith places the beer on the counter beside the stove before moving to the other side of the island and taking a seat. “I want to watch. I may not ever be able to do it, but I don’t mind watching the handsome man in action.”

I smile. “You know; you make those rules super hard to follow.”

She shrugs and takes a sip of her wine. “Who says we have to follow them once the kids are asleep?”

I smirk, and busy myself with the sauce. I can feel Meredith’s eyes on me, but for once I choose to ignore it so that I don’t mess up this dinner. The water is now boiling in the pot, so I dumb the pasta into the water.

I continue to stir the pasta, and add spices to sauce. I get a little on the spoon and bring it to my lips, making sure it tastes right. And it does, and I know the kids will enjoy it.

“Do you need me to set the table, Mer?” I ask as she gets up, coming around to the front of the stove.

“No, no, that’s something I have the kids do.” She presses a quick kiss to my lips and glances down at the sauce in the pan. “Damn that’s good!”

I let out a chuckle. “Not as good as you, though.”

Her eyes widen. “Andrew!”

“I know, the kids.” I stir the pasta quickly.

“You.” She squints at me before walking back around the island. “Zola, Bailey, Ellis! Come set the table, dinner is almost ready!”

Seconds later, you can hear little feet stomping down the stairs. First, Bailey flies through the door, followed by Zola, then little Ellis. It’s fascinating to watch as Zola gets out the plates, and hands them to Bailey to place around the table. The repeat this with the silverware and cups as well, seeming to have a system down. While the two older ones are setting the table, I can’t help but notice how Ellis has worked her way into Meredith’s lap, and it currently looks like they are having a moment.

Meredith’s kids brings out a whole other side out of Meredith. She is very caring with them, and it’s obvious she puts them over anything.

Bailey interrupts my thoughts. “So, Andrew, how do ya know if it’s done?”

I clear my throat, unsure why a five year would care about cooking. “There’s a couple ways to tell.”

I now have all of the kids’ attention, even Meredith’s, and they are watching me intently. “So show Mommy one way so she’ll stop burning stuff!”

I chuckle at Bailey antics, and I see out of the corner of my eye Meredith rolling her eyes. I think to when I was a kid, and my Mom was teaching me how to cook. The easiest easy to tell if it’s done is to taste it, but she taught me another way. Meredith might kill me if I teach her kids this, but it definitely would be funny.

“So,” I start, watching their curious faces. “There are two ways I use to tell if the noodles are done. Can you guys guess the first way?”

“Tasting them!” Zola shouts, and Meredith giggles. “Mommy usually does that but she still manages to burn everything.”

“Zola!” Meredith groans.

I pull a few noodles out, one for each kid and let them cool for a minute. “Okay, so that’s one way to tell if they are done, but my Mom taught me another way.”

“Really? Tell us!” Bailey bounces excitedly.

“Okay, your Mom might not like this a lot though.” I glance at Meredith, who now looks skeptical. “So, my mom taught me when I was young that if you through a noodle at the wall and it sticks, then it’s done.”

Meredith furrows her eyebrows, and all the kids are just staring at me. “Watch.” I take one of the noodles I pulled out a minute ago to cool, and throw it at the wall. It sticks. “See, it’s done.”

“Whoahh! I wanna try, I wanna try!” Bailey shouts.

“Me too!” Zola chimes in. “Can we Mommy, please?”

Meredith shakes her head with a slight smile. “I guess so. But only one!”

All three of the kids come run around to where I’m standing, and I hand each of them a noodle. They each take a turn at throwing their noodle at the wall, and watching in amazement as they stick to the wall.

“I’m gonna kill you for that.” Meredith whispers while shaking her head.

I shrug. “The kids love it. I loved it as a kid, and I knew it would help me win them over.”

She squints at me before turning towards the kids. “Okay, now that we know dinner is ready,” She glances back at me before continuing. “You guys should sit down and I will get your food.”

“Okay Mommy.” Zola say before moving to sit at the table, the younger two following her.

The three kids sit on one side of the table, and Meredith sits across from them. I take the seat to her left as she gets the kids food. After she’s got theirs, I procced to get mine. We all sit and I watch the kids anxiously to see their reactions.

Zola is the first try it. “This is amazing Andrew! You should cook us dinner all the time!”

“Yeah!” Bailey adds.

“It can’t be that good guys.” I know Meredith is just messing with me as she as eaten several meals I’ve made before. She locks eyes with me, and takes a slow bite. “Okay,” she shrugs, “Maybe it is that good, but he can’t cook for us all the time because he has other stuff to do.”

“Are you a surgeon like Mommy?” Zola asks between bites.

I nod, knowing that the questioning is now beginning. Meredith warned me that Zola would definitely ask me loads of questions.

“Do you work on hearts like Aunt Cristina and Maggie, the head like Aunt Amelia or the belly like Mommy?” Bailey chimes in.

That’s a question I wasn’t expecting. I also can’t quite remember if Meredith has ever talked about a Cristina, so I’ll have to ask her about that later. “I’m still learning, so I haven’t decided yet.”

“Oh.” Bailey mumbles. The table falls silent, except for the occasional clink of a fork against the plates.

My right hand sneaks under the table, finding Meredith’s thigh and squeezing it. She sighs softly, and I happy she’s letting us have this contact. It’s hard at the hospital most days to resist touching her because of her rules. I get them, I just like to be able to hold my girlfriend’s hand when I want to. She surprises me when her hand covers mine. I try not smile at the little act, but I can’t help it. It’s comforting.

“Andrew,” Zola says, getting my attention. “Are you gonna stay on our couch again and not shower?”

I cringe, and Meredith giggles beside me. She squeezes my hand reassuringly. “No, Zola. I don’t plan on it.” It would be nice to get to the point where we are living together, but we a far from that. It would be just amazing to go to sleep and wake up with Meredith in my arms.

“When you were here and you were singing, what language were you singing in?” Zola asks, taking a sip of her water.

“Italian.” Meredith answers before I can. I think back to when I was singing on her couch about Sam, and how I definitely thought she wouldn’t understand what I was saying.

“So you can speak both English and Italian? That’s so cool, I wish I could speak another language.” Zola frowns.

“Well maybe you could learn one in college, honey.” Meredith adds.

“I guess so. Did you ever try to learn one, Mom?”

Meredith and I glance at each other briefly. “I tried, but I don’t remember too much. They say if you don’t use it, you lose it, and that seems to be very true.”

I try not to roll my eyes as Meredith remembers more than she lets on. She sure loves to flirt in Italian whenever she can. “See, I grew up with my parents speaking Italian, so it was easy for me to pick up and remember.”

“Oh. Well that’s cool, I guess.” Zola shrugs.

“Yeah.” I glance around at the kids’ plates, and they seem like they are done eating. “So, you guys, I brought you guys a surprise.”

“A ‘prise?” Ellis asks excitedly.

“Yes, a surprise. If you guys can stay where you are at and be quiet while I clean up the table, you’ll get your surprise.”

They all nod eargerly. “Andrew, I clean up. You don’t have to.” Meredith stands, grabbing her plate.

I take the plate from her. “Look at the mess over there.” We both glance over to over to the sink, which is full from the pots and pans I used to make dinner. “I’ve got it.”

I grab everyone’s plates, and move to the sink. While I start to wash the dishes, I think about how this night has gone. No bad, but great either. The only thing that really has impressed them was the noddle thin and the fact that I can cook, other than that they just don’t seem interested. I sigh as one side of the sink is now filled with warm soapy water, and I put all the plates from dinner in there to soak, and I’ll wash them later.

I glance at Meredith and the kids, who are engrossed in a conversation. A year ago, I would have laughed at the thought of taking on three kids, but today the thought kind of excites me. I could never replace their father, but I hope to be a fatherly figure to them.

I grab the brownies ad work my way back to the table. “So,” I hold the brownies behind me back while I wait for their attention. “Who wants their surprise?”

All three yell “me” at once, and Ellis stands in her chair before quickly being scolded by Meredith. I can’t help but laugh at their excitement. I pull the brownies from behind my back and watch as their faces light up. I quickly cut some, giving each of us a piece before returning to by spot beside Meredith.

The kids are happily enjoying the brownies, and my hand finds Meredith’s thigh again. I smile at her, and she smiles back. This night could have gone way worse, and I’m thankful it went as well as it did.

“’Drew?” Bailey asks.

Few people in my life had ever called me that, so it’s weird to hear. “Yes, Bailey?”

“Can you come over more often and cook and bring us brownies and even maybe play trucks with me? Mommy is boring when playing trucks and my sisters don’t like to play with me.” He frowns.

I smile though, knowing I have in fact won Meredith’s kids over. “Of course, Buddy. Anytime, as long as I’m not working.” 

“Do you have to work all the time like Mommy does?” He stares at his plate.

I peer over at Meredith, who is now staring at her plate. I know being a single mother couldn’t be easy, especially with three kids. I know it can’t be easy for her to juggle her work and her kids. “I work a lot, but there are days that I don’t work that your Mommy does, and maybe if your Mommy is okay with it I can take you guys to the park or something?”

Meredith stares at her son, but squeezes my hand. I take that as a yes. “I love da swings!” Ellis giggles.

“I’ll definitely have to take you guys one day. So Ellis loves the swings, what to do love to do Zola and Bailey?” I ask, trying to learn more about the kids.

“I love kicking the soccer ball! Mommy said next spring she’d sign me up to play on an actual team, how cool is that?” He smiles, and it’s one that mirrors Meredith’s.

“That’s so cool! I’ll definitely have to come to some of your games then.” I now know that Bailey loves truck and a soccer, and I’ll have to remember to buy a soccer ball to keep with me so I can play with him. “What about you Zola?”

She shrugs, and Meredith speaks for her. “She’s really smart, and she prefers to read a book over anything. She’ll often sit at the top of the playground and read while the other kids play.”

“Really?” I ask, acting surprised. Her mother is a genius, so no doubt her kids would be as well. “I used to read all the time when I was a kid. I can’t do it as much now because I’m busy, but I love to read.”

She smiles slightly, and takes the last bite of her brownie. I know Zola will be the hardest to win over as she probably remembers Derek. I’ll take what I can get from her for now.

Bailey knocks his plate on the ground, and quickly dives under the table to get it. When he pops back up from under the table, he has a frown etched across his face. “Andrew, why do you have your hand on Mommy’s leg?”

Meredith turns bright red, and Zola frowns. Maybe we should have followed our rules in the first place.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so not my best writing but I wanted to get this out there so I could do the other one-shots I have planned!
> 
> So the spaghetti on to the wall thing is something my mom taught me, and it actually works! I don't know if it is an Italian thing or not but I really wanted to use it :)


End file.
